This invention relates to a plastic closure which is made inexpensively with injection molding equipment, and more particularly, to such a closure which has a tamper-evident band or tear off strip which is removed the first time the closure is open to provide a tamper-evident feature for the container and closure.
The present invention is directed to an inexpensive, one-piece closure which has a press-fit sealed engagement with a container having a closure retention bead or facility adjacent the open mouth. The closure is particularly useable with a container which has a security or saturn ring or ledge on the container side wall projecting outwardly of the container side wall at a location immediately below the skirt of the closure to limit access to the lower edge of a tear strip. Because the container security ring projects radially outwardly from the wall of the container and has a larger outer diameter than that of the closure skirt, it is relatively difficult to obtain direct access to the tear off strip. Also, the security ring protects the strip against accidentally being caught or torn during handling and shipping of the assembled closure and container.
The present invention is particularly useful with closures which has an annular recess or groove in the skirt wall to receive a projecting annular bead on the container to interlock the closure to the container. The closure is pushed onto the container with the closure skirt wall flexing radially outwardly to pass over the container bead until the latter snaps into the recess. The thinnest cross section in the skirt wall is at the bottom of the groove and this provides a line of weakness or a frangible portion at which the lower tear off strip severs from the upper skirt portion. With removal of the tear off strip, the now lower edge of the remaining skirt is at the location of the bead on the container. If one inserts a fingernail under the lower edge of the remaining skirt, the nail hits the container bead and makes removal of the closure difficult. When a security ring is located slightly below this lower edge of the skirt, it is almost impossible to insert a fingernail under the lower edge of the skirt and to remove the closure with a simple lifting motion. The present invention provides a lifting tab which becomes available or accessible with removal of the tear off strip. Thus, the present invention provides a new and improved lift tab that is connected to the container skirt wall and which is spaced above the security ring and projects radially outwardly from the skirt to aid in removal of the closure. Stated differently, removal of the tear strip provides access to a lift tab to lift the closure from the container despite the presence of the container bead and/or a security ring.
The closure and container of the present invention is inexpensively molded in one piece at high speeds and at a relatively low cost. Likewise, the container may be a one-piece molded container of plastic made at high speeds and at low cost. Thus, the invention is directed to a commercially feasible closure and container which can be used for a wide variety of products can be manufactured easily and at high rates to provide an inexpensive closure and/or container.
Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved closure with an improved tear off strip and a lift off tab for lifting the closure from the container.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lift tab for a closure which is disposed within the confines of a pull tab for a tear off ring and which is formed when the tear off strip is removed.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a snap-on, one piece, molded, plastic closure for use with a one-piece, molded plastic container having a tamper-evident tear off strip with a pull tab and a lift tab which is available to lift off the closure despite the presence of a security ring.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which